Firefox Introduces New Version With Yahoo, Not Google

After many years of partnership between Firefox and Google, the browser is now dumping Google for its new version, and replacing it with Yahoo as the search engine. As Mozilla Firefox works to bring out Firefox 34, the non-profit has announced its plans to contract with Yahoo over the next five years, much to the surprise of many current Firefox users. As Mozilla gains most of its revenue from the search engine, perhaps it is a good thing that they are making a switch.

Though no one knows specifically why Mozilla has now contracted with Yahoo, dropping Google from their partnership, over 100 million searches are performed by users every year using the Google search engine. Needless to say, the switch to Yahoo is causing controversy among many current users. As blogs go around urging users to boycott Firefox or protest their concerns, Mozilla is certainly hearing the backlash. One informative article on PC World informs users on how they can keep Google as the default search browser on Firefox. The author states that though it makes sense for Mozilla to switch to Yahoo, users can go into their default settings and keep Google, rather than making the switch. The author gives complete instructions on how to go into default settings and make the necessary changes. Users are urged to do so in the near future, as the author mentions that December is the month when Mozilla is planning to replace Google with Yahoo.

In fact, on Dec. 1st Firefox rolled out their plans and made the switch. Though they also made many other changes to the web browser, many of which sources claim are insignificant, the most noticeable change will be the switch in search engines. However, a service called Firefox Hello will also be introduced, providing users with a chat tool that will also allow video chat in the browser. This feature and many of the other changes are not currently accessible to all users but will be coming out over time, as Mozilla did not want to overload the system with all of the new changes. Reports assure users that if they do not see the changes now they will definitely see them in the future.

In the meantime, the terms of the new five year contract between Yahoo and Firefox have not yet been released, though reports of the previous Google contract that ended in December show that it was worth $1 billion. As Firefox was worth $311 million in revenue, according to their 2012 quarterly reports, its contract with Google was valuable. Only time will tell whether or not the switch to Yahoo will also make a large profit.

At the current moment users are wondering if Mozilla will last, as far as the companies financials go. When opening up the Firefox browser the users, over the last several days, have seen the companies campaign for funds on the front page. The statement ‘if everyone donates, we could be funded for another year,’ sits beside dollar amounts such as $1, $3, and $5. Though Mozilla has now taken the statement down, for the moment, user funding is also a portion of their revenue.

As users continue to decide whether they are happy or upset at the change, Mozilla continues to roll out plans to change search engines. Switching from Google to Yahoo is a significant change for Firefox, and with a five year contract users can expect to be using Yahoo as their search engine if they search from the introduction page of the web browser. For users who prefer Google for its different style, the media recommends just typing in the Google URL. Either way that users go, both search engines will still be available.